The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) announced today that a new art exhibition of works by Bonnie Schultz Platzer is on exhibit from May 31 through July 25, 2017 at the Block Island Airport Gallery. The Block Island Airport Gallery presents the work of contemporary Rhode Island artists in quarterly exhibitions.
After serving two years with the Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa from 1969 to 1971, Bonnie Schultz Platzer returned to New York City energized by the textiles she had seen in her travels. Subsequently studying spinning, dying and weaving, Platzer has found subject matter in her various travels and local neighborhoods. She has produced bodies of work inspired by Africa, Austria, Providence, and Morocco, where she served in the Peace Corps a second time from 2006 to 2008.
Using her photographs for inspiration, she weaves portraits that she hopes will raise questions for each viewer. Each tapestry takes 6 to 12 months of work for her to complete. Exhibiting widely, Platzer has been recognized for her work, including a prestigious RISCA Fellowship award in 2015.
Exhibitors for the Block Island Airport Gallery's 2017 season were selected by juror Catherine Little Bert; art historian, owner and curator of Bert Gallery in Providence. The Block Island Airport Gallery, a partnership between the Rhode Island Council on the Arts and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, promotes outstanding work by artists living and working in Rhode Island. The gallery will present art to an ever-changing audience of local, national and international travelers.
About RISCA: The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is a state agency supported by appropriations from the Rhode Island General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. RISCA provides grants, technical assistance and staff support to arts organizations and artists, schools, community centers, social service organizations and local governments to bring the arts into the lives of Rhode Islanders.
About RIAC: The Rhode Island Airport Corporation operates T.F. Green Airport, the Block Island Airport and four other general aviation airports in Rhode Island. A long-time supporter of public art in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation has worked with the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts on a number of public art commissions.